Malaika

re the dead trees perfectly concealed. Even the temperature was humid, and since the alti

to children aged seven to ten-year-old. An ancient tradition which all the participants should survive seven days around the forest, alone. It was a test for surviva

it will be over. She

equired mastery, her tribesmen told her she would be the best warrior when she reached her full p

ve animals for food. She encountered a few wild critters, and Malaika shifted as a bird to escape. Shapeshifting exhausted her bod

gh her father taught her the geography of their island, being present on-site was different. If only she took

r mind wandered about the spot she was in. Could it be pos

d, and her lips curved into a smile. Malaika thought

ver near the Great Lake of Virina, this body of water divided the two territories of Hala and Axum. It provided e

on the ground and leaned her back on the rock a few meters away from the flowing water. She stretched her arms and l

was not safe after all. Malaika noticed that the water level rose, and it kept ri

She swam away, but the current was too strong. The next thing she knew, it submerged her entire body in t

tting out alive made her body shuddered in fear. Shapeshifting into a water animal wa

ther, to her noble clan. But it turned out she was just another sacrifice to the Great Lake. A haught

. Her body shivered over and over. The pull underwater went forc

s happ

t they forbid water magic

estimated the power of nature. She gathered all her strength, but her

elt p

ything w